Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 275
| body = A shy, unassuming high-school student, Peter Parker prefers the company of his teachers to that of his classmates, who call him "Midtown High's only professional wallflower." His only living relatives, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, think the world of him. One evening, while attending a demonstration of radioactivity at General Techtronics Laboratories East, Parker fails to notice a spider drop through a "radioactive ray" and receive a massive dose of radiation. It bites him and dies. Light-headed, Parker leaves the demonstration, only to be nearly run over by a car. He leaps to safety but is surprised to find he has jumped much further than intended—he lands on the side of a building and clings to the bricks by his fingertips. He quickly climbs to the roof and, once there, accidentally crumples a steel pipe in his hand. He believes that he has inherited the spider's speed, strength, and climbing ability. He begins to ponder the possibilities. Shortly thereafter, Parker sees a wrestling ring and a sign: "$100 to the man who can stay in the ring three minutes with Crusher Hogan." He goes home, changes, puts on a hood, and returns to the ring. Hogan laughingly calls Parker the "Masked Marvel," but Parker lifts Hogan over his head and carries him up a post. Afterward, a man in the crowd introduces himself to Parker as a television producer, encourages him to go into show business, and gives him his card. At home, Parker makes himself a spider-themed costume, a supply of sticky web fluid, and two jets for his wrists that can shoot the fluid. "Here comes the Spider-Man!" he says. The Spider-Man appears on television and becomes a celebrity. One evening, he goes backstage and finds a guard chasing a thief. Spider-Man lets the thief escape and, when the guard complains, tells him, "That's your job! I'm thru being pushed around ... by anyone!" Some days later, Parker returns home and learns from a policeman that a burglar has killed his Uncle Ben. The police have cornered the man in the deserted Acme warehouse. Parker dons his costume and swings to the scene. Once inside, he frightens the man by crawling down the wall toward him. Parker then covers his gun hand with web fluid and knocks him unconscious. When he sees the man's face, he recognizes the thief who got away at the studio. He wraps the burglar in webbing and leaves him for the police to find. Shocked, Peter realizes that, if he had caught the burglar, his Uncle Ben would still be alive. He eventually learns that with great power comes great responsibility. }} By the time Peter is finished his story, he and Mary Jane are in Central Park. Peter explains that even though he learned a valuable lesson the night his Uncle Ben died, he still couldn't protect those he loved. He recounts how Gwen Stacy was killed during his battle with the Green Goblin, how Nathan Lubenski was recently beaten, and the more recent murder of Jean DeWolff, and how his hunt for the Sin-Eater led to people getting hurt in the crossfire. This was the final straw, he realized that while he was fighting the Sin-Eater, and people were getting hurt, he was telling jokes. Mary Jane wishes there is something she could do to ease Peter's pain. She thinks to herself that part of the reason she always admited him was due to his commitment to responsibility. Now that he is acting more like her, running away from his problems, she wonders what this will mean to both of them. Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Betty Leeds fails to reach either Flash Thompson or her husband Ned on the phone. When Joe Robertson approaches her with some more work he can't help but notice how upset she is. He asks her what's the matter and Betty confides in him her recent marital problems. She is upset because of all the secret assignments that Joe has been giving him of late, which has taken time away from their marriage. This comes as a shock to Joe, because he doesn't have any idea what Ned's been telling her. Elsewhere, Sha Shan is packing her bags, planning on leaving Flash for good. Her packing is interrupted by Ned Leeds who has come to talk to her about her boyfriend. Learning that Flash isn't around, Ned spots a bus ticket and tells her that should she see Thompson again to tell him they need to talk about some deadly serious business. While at that moment, the Kingpin is informed of the latest theft by the Hobgoblin and the Rose. The Kingpin tells the Arranger he will do nothing for now, but thinks to himself that if the Rose is who he thinks he is, then there may be all-out war before this is all over. At that moment, Flash Thompson is wondering where he went wrong in life. The former football star and war hero hasn't been able to have a stable relationship since he returned home and wonders who he can trust. Flash is then spotted by Ned Leeds who confronts Thompson about seeing his wife Betty. In response, Flash tells Leeds that he is the one responsible for pushing his wife away and takes him down with a single punch. As Flash runs back into the apartment he shares with Sha Shan, Ned vows to make Flash pay. Inside his apartment, Flash discovers that Sha Shan has packed up all her things and left. Moments later, the Hobgoblin appears from the rooftops, trying to contain his anger. Wanting to flush out Spider-Man, he goes to the local bus terminal. There he incapacitates the security guards and then spots Sha Shan in the crowd. He decides that she will make the ideal hostage and grabs the woman before she can run away. Back at Peter Parker's apartment, Mary Jane tries to talk Peter out of giving up being Spider-Man. When he turns on the television and sees the report about the Hobgoblin, he decides to let someone else handle his foe for a change. Horrified by this, Mary Jane asks Peter what happened to his sense of responsibility. This strikes a chord with Peter and he changes into Spider-Man to face the Hobgoblin once again. Spider-Man tries to convince the Hobgoblin to let Sha Shan go, but he refuses since it prevents the wall-crawler from fighting him head on. When the Hobgoblin tosses a pumpkin bomb, Spider-Man dodges the attack. Realizing that the bomb will land on the crowd below, Spider-Man catches it in a web-line and tosses it high in the air where it explodes harmlessly. When the Hobgoblin attempts to use his finger blaster, Spider-Man plugs it with webbing causing it to feedback. With no other choice, the villain threatens to throw Sha Shan to her death. This brings up memories of Gwen Stacy's death, Spider-Man leaps down and catches Sha Shan before swinging her to safety, hurting his shoulder in the process. He then goes after the Hobgoblin again, and this time the villain activates his random finger blaster. However, despite the new device, the wall-crawler is still able to dodge the blasts at first. Finally, the Hobgoblin clips Spider-Man's arm and then blasts him clear in the chest, knocking Spider-Man onto his back. Stunned by the blow, Spider-Man is now helpless as the Hobgoblin moves in for the kill. | Writer1_1 = Tom Defalco | Penciler1_1 = Ron Frenz | Inker1_1 = Josef Rubinstein | Colourist1_1 = Nelson Yomtov | Letterer1_1 = Joe Rosen | Editor1_1 = Jim Owsley | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * * Antagonists: * * * Other Characters: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * ** *** *** *** *** ** *** **** **** *** **** ** Items: * * (not the Symbiote) * Vehicles: * | Notes = Continuity Notes * This story raises some many questions as to the identity of the Hobgoblin in this story, pointing towards Ned Leeds and Flash Thompson being possible suspects. Some facts: ** The Hobgoblin active in this story is Roderick Kingsley, the mastermind behind the whole Hobgoblin conspiracy, as revealed in - . ** Flash Thompson will later be framed for the Hobgoblin's crimes as revealed in . ** Ned Leeds is has actually been brainwashed into thinking he is the Hobgoblin, as revealed in Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #1-3. He will take a more active role in this guise starting next issue. * Peter Parker is tired of being Spider-Man after so many innocent people were hurt on his watch: ** First and foremost, his Uncle Ben, who was shot by a burglar that Peter failed to stop in . ** Gwen Stacy, who was killed during Spider-Man's battle with the Green Goblin in . ** Nathan Lubenski who was beaten up by loan sharks in . ** Lastly, Jean DeWollf and various innocent people who were harmed during the Sin-Eater's murderous rampages circa - . * Another motivator for Peter quitting being Spider-Man was his recent encounters with the Beyonder. Particularly the events of , - and . * The Kingpin suspects that he knows who the Rose might be. The true identity of the Rose is revealed in . | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = * Information and cover from Amazing Spider-Man #275 at www.samruby.com }}